


Strong at the Broken Places

by DarkJediQueen



Series: Here There Be Dragons [14]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst, Child Injury, Established Relationship, Fantasy, M/M, magic is known
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 04:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19124806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkJediQueen/pseuds/DarkJediQueen
Summary: Little bumps are easy to heal, and sometimes big bumps are needed to push things a little further along.





	Strong at the Broken Places

**Author's Note:**

> **Notes** : None  
>  **Spoilers** : Up Through Season 5  
>  **Year** : March 2010 (Late Season 5)  
>  **Beta** : rivermoon1970

Aaron stood in the crematory and stared at the empty chamber where too many children had lost their lives. He had the pictures in his hand that had been given to the team by the somber boy who was unlike the boy that was in the memories of his parents and the BAU's memory, especially JJ's. The pictures though allowed many families to get closure. Aaron understood better than most about doing what was needed to survive even if those things tainted your soul with a bit of blackness. Looking at Reed who was perched on the window, Aaron knew that he understood as well.

The anger inside of Aaron wasn't something new. Aaron hated it when children were abused, but this was just so much worse because it was so damned close to him. The natural magic of the area was in turmoil, and it was going to take a lot of time to get the ley lines back to normal. Aaron turned to leave, holding his arm out for Reed to jump onto it. Aaron walked until he got to the actual cemetery. He looked at the rose bushes that were growing there. When the team had got to that area, Aaron had known precisely what was going on.

"Death Bushes," Reed whispered.

"I thought they were extinct," Aaron said.

"No, just very rare. I wasn't aware that there were any in the states though. I know that Tria has a few of them in her garden hidden inside the mountain. They can be used for good in certain circumstances. No one has seen them in a long time, and they don't look much different than regular rose bushes."

"No, they really do not. What should we do with them?" Aaron asked.

"Call the local necromantic coven so that they can come and cleanse this land and let them do with them what they will. Right now they are actually helping the dead who are buried here rest peacefully and move on. Which is what the Death Bush originally was used for. It only took on the feared name of the Death Bush after a group of necromancers used them to trap the souls of people and use their bodies for their evil deeds."

"You know a lot about them. By the time that I first heard about them, someone had gone through the world and destroyed everyone they could get their hands on. Though given that some were able to be grown now means that they missed some."

Reed snorted and jumped off of Aaron's arm to walk to the bush. Aaron watched him use his claw to take one of the fully bloomed roses off of the bush. It fell to the ground, and Reed stared at it for a few seconds. Aaron wasn't sure what was happening, and then he felt the build of magic in the area. It was swelling and receding like the waves in the ocean. Then it crested, and Aaron felt it wash out around the grounds. The rose crumbled to nothing, and then Reed looked up at Aaron.

"There are fifteen Death Bushes here in this graveyard and two bushes in the rest of the continental states. I'll have to search out that second one because I am certain that it's the parent of these bushes."

"You were the one to destroy them." Aaron knew that they had a much longer time when they were not together than when they were together, but this was something very different.

"Yes. I traveled the entire world and left three alive that were not in Tria's hands. There is an ancient Immortal in Japan who uses it to help souls pass, the same in Africa and then a third here in the US who helps all of this part of the world to move on when it's needed. None of them would ever allow cuttings to propagate anywhere for fear of what could happen because of that."

"Well, after you are fully healed, I'll consent to help you hunt down where these come from."

"These fifteen bushes will have to become the property of the coven. They are good and pure, and I will consent to allow them to decide what happens. They will probably keep one and destroy the rest. Right now they get flowers from the other bush and have for a long time."

"I forget how connected to natural magic you are."

"I was born from natural magic," Reed reminded Aaron.

"I know. Let's get this case closed."

It was hours later before Aaron could take Reed and go home. The case was a mess from the start with angry feelings between parents and then the added headache of so many others. Aaron just wanted to go home and cuddle with Jack and sleep. Reed seemed to be wide awake though, he hadn't been sleeping as much as he had before after James and Alec had broken the curse that was on him. His body was healing slowly, but at least they were able to trace the healing.

Aaron had not told Reed about him twitching his wings when he was asleep. The healing was starting at the apex points of the wings, all of the small joints and slowly moving toward the main bones. Aaron was looking forward to the day that Reed could fly again.

Reed was missing the sky, and it wasn't just the ache of missing flying. Reed felt free when he was up there and sitting on the apex of the house wasn't the same, nor was flying on the jet. Reed wanted the sky. He had been dreaming of flying since the curse had been lifted. It made Aaron dream of it as well. Aaron already had plans forming for when Reed was fully healed and doing that thing where he turned Aaron into a Dragon as well. He wanted to feel what it was like to fly like Reed.

"I don't want to project on the kids," Aaron said as he sat in the car and looked at the house. He could feel the magic from all of them that said all three kids were in there.

"I'll go inside and start getting them ready for bed," Reed said. He clambered up the back of the seat he had been in and reached over to nuzzle his nose into Aaron's cheek. Aaron rolled down the window of the car and Reed scrambled out of it. When his Dragon was clear. Aaron rolled up the window again. He was bleeding out on Reed, and he knew it. There were too many emotions inside of him, and he needed to slowly let them go. Aaron closed his eyes and worked on that. Following each thread of emotion to the end and then basically untying the knot that it was in and letting it go. He had learned the technique a long time ago when he was in what was now known as Asia. He couldn't remember the exact location, but it was there, somewhere.

Aaron had only a single emotion left that was making his mind feel like shit when he felt something over his bond with Jack. It was pain. Utter pain. Aaron threw the car door open, hearing it make a slight crunching noise but he didn't care. He raced toward the house, his magic cresting around him and he hit the door as he ran, breaking it down. There was a scream and then Aaron found himself bound tightly in magic. He opened his eyes and saw that he was in the living room. Indara was in front of him magic arcing all over her body. Bri and Jack were behind Reed with Reed, the size of a lion.

"I'm calm," Aaron said, but the bonds holding him were not dropped. Aaron's magic started to fight and then the magic that was holding him surged. It was Reed holding him. Aaron stopped his magic from fighting, and when he did, Reed let go of him.

"Jack needs to go to the hospital," Indara said. She looked at Jack and then at Aaron before stepping back to allow Aaron to get to his son. Aaron saw that Jack's arm was wrapped in a blanket from the couch. Aaron could see blood. It wasn't a wonder why Reed had reacted like he had to Aaron's charging in.

"I damaged my car door," Aaron said, and he knew that they would see it as soon as they exited the house. "We will have to take Reed's car."

"I'll stay here with Bri," Indara said as she stepped up to pull Bri away from Jack, but Jack's good arm shot out and latched onto her while Bri grabbed him as well. Aaron's heart broke because he wanted Jack to want him. There was still that damned emotion inside of him that was making it hard for Aaron to let go of the fact that Jack wanted his bonded.

"You can stay and manage Henry if he wakes up and JJ brings him over. Reed and I will take Bri with us." Aaron strode forward and picked up Jack, severing the touching between him and Bri. Jack made a pitiful noise and seconds later. Sparkle was jumping up to land on Jack's stomach. Jack used his good arm to reach up and pet her. Even at that size, the size of a small adult hamster, the hospital was not going to let her be with Jack all the time, but they would at least allow Aaron to be there. Reed and Sparkle could wait while Aaron went with Jack.

The drive to the hospital was long and distressing. Jack was in the backseat with Sparkle a little bigger and her head on Jack's leg. Reed was sitting on the headrest of the passenger seat. Aaron was driving as fast as he was legally allowed. Reed had offered to become as big as a house and walk them to the hospital, but Aaron had turned that down. They did not need that kind of attention brought down on them again.

As soon as Aaron carried Jack inside, a nurse was looking up at them and then down at Jack's arm which was on his belly with more blood seeping to the outer visible area of the wrapping.

"There!" the nurse pointed at a room and Aaron strode in that direction. Before Aaron even got Jack down on the bed, a doctor was entering as well as a nurse and what looked like a patient registration person. Reed shrunk down and jumped from Aaron's shoulder to the man's shoulder. The man looked at him in a little bit of shock.

"Lord Hotchner, Lord Reed, welcome. I'm sorry it's under such circumstances," the doctor said.

"Thank you. Reed, can you take care of registering Jack, and I'll handle things in here."

"Jeffrey, the Dragon on your shoulder is Lord Spencer Reid, you can call him Reed."

"Yes, Sir," Jeffrey said, and he turned to exit, glancing up at Reed as he walked. If it had been any other circumstance, Aaron knew that he would have been laughing.

"And who is this?" the doctor asked.

Aaron looked down to see that Sparkle was tiny again. She was balanced on Jack's stomach almost like she was trying to protect his arm.

"That is Bri, Jack's bonded mate. Their third is not here."

"Hello, Bri. Can you move up to Jack's shoulder?" The doctor reached out and offered his hand to Aaron. "My name is Evan Fable. I'm immortal, and I was but a child when I saw you fight in the Revolutionary War, Lord Hotchner."

"Aaron is fine," Aaron said offhandedly. Jack had tears on his face and while he wasn't crying out in pain, he was still crying. "I am unsure of what happened. Reed and I had just got home from work when I felt Jack's pain over the bond."

" _We were playing and Indara told us not to get up on top of that chair that Spencer really likes, the one with the high back but Jack wanted to be King of the Mountain, so he climbed up there. When he fell, he hit the table. The table broke and so did is his arm._ " Sparkle's voice was small, even in Aaron's head.

Aaron relayed that to Evan, and the man nodded. Evan was gentle as he unwrapped Jack's arm from the binding that had been put on it by Indara.

"A break like this will be hard to mend with even my healing magic. I can heal the skin, but the bone needs to start to set on its own before we heal it the rest of the way with magic," Evan said. He reached out and touched Jack's shoulder, and Jack's whole body relaxed into the bed.

"What was that?" Aaron asked.

"I deadened the pain receptors in his arm for a little while. That will help me be able to get the arm into position for an X-Ray’s as well as make sure that he's relaxed for it. We have a mobile unit, and the images will happen in here. Miss Sparkle, I know that you are worried about Jack, but when we take the pictures of his bones, I need you to go outside of the room."

Sparkle nodded her head, but she didn't move from where she was rubbing the side of her face on Jack's cheek. The nurse in the room left and came back in with an X-Ray machine on wheels. The doctor started to prep Jack, laying a board under Jack's arm and on top of his stomach. Two blankets were put on Jack, one above the board and one below to help stop the rays from getting where they were not supposed to be.

"Jack, I know you are a brave little boy, so I'm going to take your dad and your Sparkle out of here while I take the pictures."

"Okay," Jack said, and he sounded so much younger than he was. Aaron hated that he would have to leave, and he debated for a few seconds fighting it, but he didn't. He stepped out of the room and waited for the image to be taken. He was about to follow Evan back in when Evan stopped him.

"We need to have two more taken, so it's best if you stay out here."

"Doesn't an X-Ray tech usually do this?"

"I'm a very hands-on doctor and have learned most of the things myself. A lot of Magicals who come in here are not trusting of non-magic humans so it's best if I can do it all. The normal nurse that works with me is magical but she's off tonight, so I try and do it all on my own."

Aaron nodded and settled outside of the room. Evan came out two more times before he allowed Aaron back into the room.

"Now, we have to wait for the images to tell me exactly what is going on inside of your arm and then we can see what we need to do. The nerve block that I did doesn't affect everyone the same so if he starts to act like he's in pain again, send someone for me. I'm going to walk these up to be developed on my own."

Aaron settled down into a chair at Jack's bedside, and he reached up and held Jack's good hand. Jack was silent, and that was a little odd, even without the pain. Jack was almost never quiet anymore. He had settled into life with them really well. There wasn't going to be a quick fix with this, and it was going to be something that drew Jack and Spencer closer together, both of them injured in a way that stopped them from doing what they loved. Aaron hated the feelings that were inside of him, but he knew that it wouldn't do any good for him to give them a voice because all it would do was push Jack even further from him.

It was twenty minutes before the doctor came back into the room. Evan's expression was not a good one. He had a smile on his face, but the tightness of his cheeks and a few other tells of how he was walking said that he wasn't going to give good news.

"So, Jack I would say that when you do something you do it well. It's just a simple break that broke through the skin." Evan reached out and motioned for Aaron's arm. Aaron held it out, keeping the other wrapped around Jack's little hand. "So you have the break here." Evan pointed at the spot on Aaron's arm where the break was that had broken through the skin on Jack. "You know that it's what broke through your skin but-" Evan scooted his hand up about two inches up Aaron's arm. "There is also a break here."

"What does that mean?" Aaron asked.

"Surgery. I've already called the best magical children's surgeon in the area, and she is on her way here. We can have Jack in and out of surgery before the night is over." Evan reached up and ruffled Jack's hair.

"What about magical healing of the bone?"

"With normal humans whose bodies won't accept magical healing we use pins and such to make sure that the bone heals in the correct place but Jack's is magical, so that means that we are going to go in and wrap the bones in a magic splint that will slowly dissipate as the bones heal some. Once the bones have knit back together enough, then we can go in and heal them the rest of the way. The surgery is just going to make sure that no muscles are torn, that the ligaments and everything are in good shape. Magic is great, but no spell has been created that can fix all of that."

"He'll be put under for the surgery?" Aaron asked.

"Yes. He'll be put totally under. We have a theater where you can watch the whole thing, all three of you if you wish." Evan turned to look at the door as Jeffrey walked back in with the clipboard and Reed on his shoulder.

"You need to sign, Aaron," Spencer said.

Aaron took the clipboard and signed where there were Xs across all the sheets of paper. Reed jumped to land on top of a cabinet in the room, shrinking to where he could fit between it and the ceiling perfectly. Aaron turned back to Jack who had let go of Aaron's hand and was petting Sparkle with his good hand. Aaron bristled at it but kept that emotion locked down tight.

"I'll get the surgery consent forms and let you read over them as well as what to expect and then we can get him prepped," Evan said. He turned to leave, sweeping Jeffrey with him as he exited. The door was pulled shut, leaving the four of them alone.

Aaron looked up at Reed to see that he as typing on his phone. It was strange to see Reed doing that as he usually made Aaron do all of it from his phone, but he knew that Reed had figured out a way to carry a lot of things with him that he might need in the line of duty. Reed wasn't paying attention to Aaron at all. Usually, Reed would look at Aaron when Aaron stared at him long enough. Reed was probably too focused on Jack and whatever he was typing to care to notice Aaron staring.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Jack said. He sounded scared, and Aaron knew that getting angry that Jack was scared wasn't going to help Jack not be frightened. This was the first big thing that had happened since the boy had come to live with him.

Aaron smiled at Jack and reached out to brush a finger down Jack's cheek. "It's okay, buddy. You didn't know that this would happen."

"If I knew I never would have done it."

"Exactly. While this is going to suck and you were very wrong for not listening to Indara, you won't be punished for not doing what she said. I think that this is punishment enough, don't you?"

"It hurt a lot. I mean like a lot a lot. I don't ever want to feel this again."

"No one would," Aaron said.

"Henry slept through it, but he's got that cold and the medicine that they give him makes him sleep deeper," Reed said.

Aaron realized then that Reed had been trying to figure out how Henry was doing. There was no way that the boy hadn't felt it, but it was good that the medicine that he had been taking was keeping his asleep. Aaron hadn't thought about that, but he wasn't shocked. Jack was Aaron's kid and his whole focus was on him.

There was a reason that Aaron had not wanted more children. Aaron remembered what it felt like to feel those children ripped away from him and that hole in his heart that would never be filled. More children could never replace that empty hole, and Aaron had lost his last to such horrific conditions it was enough to make anyone never want another child.

It was half an hour later that they came to prepare Jack for surgery and Sparkle flew up to where Reed was and watched with a close eye as Aaron calmed Jack down while the anesthetic started to take effect. Magical children were always put under with a parent in the room with them. Their magic didn't lash out and keep them awake if they knew someone they trusted was there.

Aaron held out his arm and both Dragons flew to him before Aaron started to walk out the door to follow where they were wheeling Jack. Evan directed them to a room where Aaron saw that there were theater-like seats that looked down into the surgery room. Jack was wheeled in, and he was hooked up to machines and his arm laid out to be operated on. The wrapping was around it again, keeping the blood in. Slowly it was unwrapped, and Aaron watched as blood was hung up. Aaron had made sure that Jack's medical record was complete when he had gained custody of the boy. He hadn't wanted anything to happen because something was missing, that included his blood type.

Bri settled into Aaron's lap while Reed went right up to the edge of the glass and stared down. Aaron felt Sparkle grow more substantial in his lap, becoming the size of a slightly large cat. She was shivering. Aaron knew what it felt like when a bonded was under like Jack was and he didn't like it, so he sympathized. Aaron started to rub his hand down her back as the doctor stepped up to the table to begin to operate on Jack.

Aaron had never thought that he would see this in his life. Watching his son being cut into. Aaron kept a tight check on his emotions as the blood started to come out of the first cut made to give the doctors a look at the bones that were broke. They were too far to see anything that close, but still, the blood coming from Jack's arm was enough to make Aaron feel rage. There was no one to rage at though because it was an accident. Jack was a precocious child and accidents were going to happen.

It seemed like the surgery took forever, but Aaron knew that it hadn't. Just after closing up the arm and putting a weird brace on it before wheeling Jack out, the doctor who had done the operation has turned around to face them, giving Aaron a double thumbs up.

Aaron finally let himself relax at that.

* * *

It was noon before Aaron walked in the door to the house with Jack half asleep in his arms. He had been discharged after Evan had healed the skin around the cut from the surgery. There was no reason to keep him. Aaron was glad of that because every single instinct inside of him had him wanting to keep Jack where no one could get to him.

Sparkle had fallen asleep on Jack's lap as they had driven home and Aaron had transferred her to Reed's back before getting out of the car. After unlocking the door, Aaron looked back at his car to see that it was gone. He hadn't noticed that. Indara or JJ must have had it picked up to be fixed.

"Upstairs?" Reed asked.

"Yes, Jack can sleep off the magic overload while I work on making lunch for all of us." Aaron shifted Jack in his arms carefully. The brace was still on his arm, holding the bones in place just in case the magic keeping the bones together got a little strained. It was better than a cast and Aaron was glad of that. Jack would hate a cast on his arm.

Reed settled Sparkles on the bed beside Jack's head after Aaron had Jack tucked into bed. Reed gave them both a kiss with his snout before he left the room.

Aaron didn't leave the room for twenty minutes, listening to Jack just breathing. When he did, he found Reed in the kitchen. He was adding a few spices to a pot. Aaron leaned over to look into it and saw that it was chili. The meat was already in the pot, having been cooked the last time that Indara had gone shopping. She would cook it up and freeze it so that quick meals could be prepared with it like soups or casseroles.

"Do you want to make sure that we have enough of the cheese that Jack likes on his grilled cheese sandwiches?" Reed asked.

"Yeah, that sounds pretty damned good," Aaron said. He walked to the fridge and opened it and found the drawer that had the sliced cheeses inside of it. He saw what he was looking for and found that there was enough for Jack and Sparkle and that Aaron and Spencer's pepper jack cheese was plenty. He did add them to the shopping list though. There would not be a lot left after their lunch.

"So do you want to talk about what is wrong?" Reed asked.

Aaron turned to look at Reed who was balancing a bottle of paprika over the pot while he stirred. His tongue darted out and licked at the spoon, and the paprika floated away, magic putting the lid on it and putting it away. Next was garlic powder.

"There is nothing wrong, Reed," Aaron said hoping that the icy tone he adopted was going to keep the Dragon from pressing the issue. Aaron just needed time to work through his emotions. He didn't need to share them with Reed, ever.

"You've been pissed off since the moment that Jack refused to leave without Bri. So no, I don't believe that there is nothing wrong." The cabinet door that held the spices slammed shut, and Aaron forced himself to look at Reed. The Dragon looked pissed as he looked at Aaron. "Don't lie to me Aaron Maddox Hotchner. If you don't want to talk about it just say so. If you feel that there is nothing to talk about, tell me that but do not lie to me."

"There is nothing that you can do to help me. I need to do this alone." Aaron felt a little pulse of anger at Reed demanding that Aaron not lie to him when Reed had spent the first bit of his time lying to Aaron. Aaron felt like he was protecting himself in this. He had a right to emotions just like Reed had a right to keep the things secret that protected himself while he was healing from his time in captivity.

"That wasn't so hard was it?" Reed asked, but his tone was still very upset. Aaron could feel the anger in Reed and it wasn't helping him own anger but he knew that Reed's hold on his emotions wasn't the greatest but it was better now that his wings were healing and that maybe they both needed a little bit of distance.

Still, Aaron debated going over to him and soothing the anger that he had roused in the Dragon, but he decided not to. If he touched him, Reed would know that nothing was fine and that everything was even worse than he thought. Aaron chose to just leave the room instead, and he walked outside into the warm sun of the day. It was March and still too cool to be considered warm, but it felt good to Aaron.

Sitting in the sun, Aaron lost track of time. He pushed out all thoughts and all emotions, trying to make himself believe that he could just repress them. Aaron was lost in a daydream when he realized that it was his memories that held a crying child but there was a child crying in his house. The charms around the house were set by Indara, and the sound of a child crying just got louder and louder until someone took care of them. It allowed for the children to self-soothe if they hurt themselves in a room alone or if the kid kept on crying an adult would be alerted. Aaron had marveled at the spell because it would have been excellent with all of Aaron's other kids.

Aaron figured that Reed was cooking and wasn't paying attention. He would hear Jack crying and soothe him.

Another five minutes went by, and the sound of Jack crying was getting louder. Aaron turned around and walked into the house. The kitchen was empty, but the sound was still just as loud, so Aaron walked up into Jack's room to find that Reed and Bri were not in there. Jack was curled on the bed crying and Aaron sat down beside him. Jack rolled over and flung himself at Aaron. Aaron caught him and made sure that they didn't bump the arm at all. Jack latched himself to Aaron.

Jack was aching, but it wasn't for anything that was wrong with his arm. Aaron's magic could tell that he wasn't hurting that way, but the ache was rooted deep inside of him because he had neither of his bonded with him. Aaron wondered where Bri was and found that he couldn't track Reed either. Aaron swallowed thickly because he knew right then what Reed was doing. He was teaching Aaron a lesson that Aaron knew well but had forgotten in his rush to want his son to want him.

Reed was Aaron's bonded, and there were things that only Reed made better. The presence of Reed in his life made everything better, and when Aaron was hurting, he wanted his Dragon or his lover, whichever form he was in. Jack trusted that Aaron was going to be there and nothing was stopping Aaron from being there with Jack while he was getting comfort from Bri or Jack just being there. Jack was a child, and his best friends in the world were important.

"I'm sorry," Aaron whispered so low that Jack wouldn't be able to hear it.

Aaron also realized the second thing that Reed was teaching him in that moment. Jack sought out Reed, and it wasn't anything to do with him wanting the Dragon more because he was a Dragon. Aaron knew that deep down he knew that. It had everything to do with the fact that while Aaron loved Jack, he was hesitant. He wanted Jack in his life, but he hadn't allowed himself to get genuinely attached to him in a way that would enable the parental bond to really deepen in him. Aaron saw that car crash over and over again, and his heart and mind had decided that he shouldn't get too attached because everyone left. Between Reed being hurt, and then how they found Jack, the horribleness that was their job, Aaron was scared and Jack knew it. He might not understand why Aaron held himself apart from Jack, but after that month of bonding between the two of them, Aaron hadn't deepened that bond.

Wrapping his arms around Jack even tighter, Aaron stood up with Jack in his arms, and he walked over to the window to look outside. Reed and Sparkle were not in the backyard. Aaron tried to reach out to Reed but found that part of the bond shut down. He did the same for Sparkle and then Henry but found the exact same thing. Reed was hiding them all from him.

Aaron hated that he had to share Jack with Bri and Henry before genuinely getting any time with him, but the magic did what it wanted. It would be like railing at the wind for knocking over a tower of cards. Aaron had to accept and move on. He had to accept and make sure that Bri and Henry, and even Reed, knew that he didn't hate them, on any level. Aaron was an adult who could reason and accept, and when smacked in the face with his shortcomings, Aaron could learn.

Vowing to do better, Aaron settled in with Jack in the window seat. He pushed into that bond that he had with Jack and found something that he had missed in the time since Jack had come into his life. He had kept most of that bond open but Jack's own fragile magic was taking the bond as one way instead of an open bond like Aaron and Spencer had, like Aaron had with his kids that were long gone. Aaron dropped that part of the bond, opening it up all the way. His magic had tried to protect him but it seemed all it had done was hurt him and that in turn hurt Jack.

"I love you, Jack," Aaron said.

Jack whimpered a little but he stayed asleep in Aaron's arms. Aaron wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep but it felt good. Aaron vowed to stop going through the motions. He would make sure that Jack knew that Aaron wanted him, no matter what, and if that meant Bri and Henry as well, it was okay. When life settled, Jack would feel okay being separated from his mates more than he normally was. Aaron thought about what he could do with Jack then and maybe talk Reed into doing things with Bri, Dragon things that Aaron didn't need to know. Jack might but Jack had a long time to learn them everything that he needed to know about have a Dragon as his mate.

* * *

Dinner turned out to be good, Aaron knew that Reed liked chili and knew how to make it really good, but there had been a few things missing, namely Bri and Reed. Jack never asked for anyone, but he didn't stray far from Aaron. Aaron learned to cook with a limpet attached to his side and when he was ladling the food, one attached to his leg. Aaron could already feel the bond and how it was changing just from being around each other. Aaron knew that he would need to do the same with Bri and Henry, but that could come as the other kids wanted it.

Jack fell asleep in Aaron's arms again while Aaron read aloud from a book that was in Jack's room that was new. Aaron hadn't been sure where Reed was in the book that Jack was being read to from so Aaron had chosen a new book to start. After taking the pain medicine that would help Jack sleep through the night because sleep was more important for magicals who needed healing than anything else, Aaron laid him down in Aaron and Reed's bed.

There was scratching at the window that allowed Reed to get in and out with ease, usually while flying. Aaron looked up at the window to see that it was Sparkle Aaron swallowed as he finally felt the three of them again in the bond. Aaron could feel Reed and Henry getting closer just as the bedroom door opened up. Reed walked in with Henry on his back. Aaron got up off the bed where he had been sitting beside Jack and picked up Henry from Reed's back. Aaron laid Henry down beside Jack and Henry rolled to where he was facing Jack while Sparkle settled down between them. She grew just enough to where both could lay their hands on her.

"I'm sorry."

"So am I. I reacted out of anger. You dug yourself deep in the pity party and stopped seeing what was really in front of you and it rankled me," Reed said. He shrank down to a small size and jumped up to land on the edge of the dresser that Aaron was standing near. Aaron looked at the bed and sighed. He knew that one day Henry and Bri would be no different than Jack in his mind and in his heart but he hadn't accepted that yet, and he really needed to. He needed to see them as part of the family that was building around him. Jack spending time with them wasn't robbing Aaron of his time with Jack, he just had to figure out how to encompass all of them. There were days that Henry was with his parents and just like he had thought of before, he could talk Reed into doing something with Bri. Flying lessons would pick up when Reed was healed.

"I've never had to share my kids before. Other than with their mothers. I've never had this happen." Aaron walked over to Reed and reached up to pet his head. Reed pushed up into the hand with a pulse of affection over the bond. "Once when I was much younger after great-great-great-grandchildren, and their children were wiped out from a plague, I realized that I had no one. My family has never existed beyond me and maybe a few generations, but those always die. It's why I never noticed that Sean was alive, I have cut myself off from the flow of magic like that. It was better, at the time. My magic sometimes aches because there is no one else in it that I share it with. I would have realized all of this a lot sooner if I had not done so. I didn't realize that Jack wasn't getting the same feedback I was from the bond and that was making him hesitant. He's a child and sometimes we have to make them do things. Even if that is spending time with us, me."

"It's hard to see the dislike when you feel justified. I've only ever had Tria, Serena, and Indara in my magic. We share it all so easy that I didn't notice that you weren't doing it with the kids besides Jack. You know now, how to accept them into your magic, and love will come in its own time. I think that maybe a day with all three of them this weekend would be a good idea. I'll go hang out at JJ's or hunting through the woods in the area. The farmer who has the cows for me to eat has an expansive bit of land that he allows to be timbered when it's time, and he's offered it to me as a play area since I can't fly."

"You don't have to." Aaron didn't know how he felt about Reed not being a part of what they were doing.

"You tried your hardest to not let me feel what you were feeling Aaron, but I felt the resentment that Jack has affection for me. There is no place in our bond for feelings like that, and you need time to work through it all and spending time with Jack and his bonded alone I think will do you some good. You can start to bond with them in a way that doesn't include me."

Aaron was gentle as he reached out to scoop up Reed and carry him over to the bed. Aaron laid him down before he started to get ready for bed. Aaron felt Reed in the bond and found that it was muted compared to how it usually was. Reed was still hurting from Aaron’s previous emotions. Aaron knew that with the bond growing every single day that there would come a point where Reed would not be able to be blocked like Aaron had done earlier that day. Aaron had not realized that it had come to that point. It took a lot of active brain power to actually block one of them from feeling it all, but it seemed that Reed had figured that it was a good idea to do. Aaron didn't even want to think what he would have done if he had felt what Reed was sure to have been feeling once he felt the low-level resentment that Aaron had been giving off.

Taking a little longer than usual to get ready for bed, Aaron finally left the bathroom to find Reed still in the same place that Aaron had left him. Aaron wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want to move or he was afraid of what Aaron would feel if he moved without Aaron's approval. Reed's emotions were all over the place on a good day mainly because he wasn't used to being a Dragon all the time after so long of primarily being in human form. There was also being trapped in that form again that made Reed a ball of emotion.

Aaron got into bed and used magic to pull the blanket up over him. The kids had a different one over them. Reed was under the blanket, but Aaron knew that he wouldn't last that long.

"We also, I think, need time for us again," Aaron said as he patted around under the blanket until he found Reed's tail. He followed it up to his body then Reed's head. Aaron scratched at the scales under Reed's chin, the purr of happiness rumbled the bed a little bit, but Aaron just smiled at Reed even though Reed couldn't see him.

"I hate being trapped like this," Reed said. He sounded small, like a child.

"I know. After years of being trapped in it before and now this with the pain of your wings healing and the curse. I know." Aaron hated what Reed was going through and the pain of it being Sean that had done it still made Aaron ache inside.

Reed started to move under the blankets. His snout coming out of the blankets first followed slowly by the rest of him so that his wings didn't get caught on the blanket and he hurt them more. Aaron waited to see if Reed was going to shrink and curl up on his pillow like he used to but instead of that, Reed turned and went down to Aaron' feet.

Aaron frowned as Reed settled down there almost like a dog. Aaron started to sit up and demand that Reed come up to the be with him when Reed began to grow. The new bed was huge, big enough for a massive Reed to sleep on it even with Aaron and the three kids. Reed grew and laid his head over Aaron's thighs while his body grew and curled around the kids. His tail whipped up to where it was by Aaron's head. Aaron smiled. Reed was afraid of Jack falling off the bed, so he was using his tail as a way to stop him from falling off.

Reaching out and wrapping his fingers around Reed's tail, Aaron settled down to sleep. He let the two points of contact between Reed and him serve as a way to ground himself. Reed was here, and even if they had more hiccups, Reed wasn't going to leave Aaron.

# The End

**Author's Note:**

> I write fanfiction for fun. It's a hobby and a stress relief. I refuse to stress over my writing. What you see is what you get. Errors, plot holes, and all. Thank you for reading my story! 
> 
> I can be found on MeWe (a FB replacement that's better) [here](https://mewe.com/i/beccaqueen1), join me there and we can discuss my fics and whatnot. My writing page for the moment is kind of dead in the water on a FB front as links are being banned for content. 
> 
> The Criminal Minds Reverse Bang sign-ups are open until June 30th! Please check it out [here](https://criminalmindsbangblog.wordpress.com/).


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